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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities are currently probing a suspected biolaboratory discovered in a Las Vegas home, which has ties to an individual previously arrested in 2023 for running an unauthorized biolab in California, officials revealed on Monday.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department stated that SWAT officers executed a search warrant on Saturday after a tip-off suggested the presence of a biolab at a residence on the city’s east side. During the operation, they detained the property manager of the home. Details regarding any charges have yet to be disclosed.
According to the police statement, investigators uncovered potential biological materials, including refrigerators storing vials filled with unidentified liquids.
Officials reassured the public that there is no immediate danger.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill identified the homeowner as Jia Bei Zhu, a Chinese national who faced arrest in 2023 for failing to secure necessary permits to produce COVID-19, pregnancy, and HIV test kits and for mislabeling some of these products.
Zhu’s trial in that case is scheduled for April. His attorney Anthony Capozzi said Monday that his client has been in federal custody for three years.
“He is not involved in any kind of a biolab being conducted in a home in Las Vegas,” Capozzi said. “What went on in that residence we are unaware of.”
Law enforcement took special precautions when serving the warrant on the Las Vegas home, including using a robot to clear the home and taking multiple air samples, McMahill said. Hazmat teams worked to remove items from the home.
The FBI is assisting in the investigation.